Egyptian Hieroglyph D21: Mouth
KEMET VAULT / HIEROGLYPH REFERENCE / SOURCE-REVIEWED SIGN
Gardiner D21 depicts a human mouth in simplified profile. Unicode lists it as U+1308B and gives its common phonographic value as r. Its shape makes an intuitive example of a sign that can belong to a lexical field connected with the mouth yet also operate as a sound sign in a completely different word.
At-a-glance sign record
| Gardiner catalogue | D21 |
|---|---|
| Unicode | U+1308B |
| Sign family | D · Parts of the human body |
| Common function | One-consonant phonogram |
| Conventional value | r |
Recognising the sign: shape and variants
The outline is compact and often wider than it is tall. Do not identify it with every small oval or horizontal mark in an inscription: neighboring signs, carving style and line direction affect recognition. Unicode explicitly warns readers not to confuse D21 with another superficially similar encoded sign. Reliable identification uses the sign’s form and its place in the inscription, not one isolated pixel pattern.
How the sign works in Egyptian writing
As a one-consonant phonogram, D21 contributes r to a written sequence. Egyptian transliteration represents consonantal structure, and a sequence of signs may also include a classifier or a sound complement. The same sign’s image can evoke the physical mouth, but that semantic connection must not be substituted automatically for its phonetic value. For instance, the preposition r can carry meanings such as ‘toward’ or ‘to’ in suitable contexts. Its interpretation depends on the full phrase rather than an isolated D21 glyph.
A reading exercise, with its limits
Reading exercise: mark D21 as r in a transcription exercise, then check whether the next signs belong to a word, a suffix or a grammatical construction. If a textbook translates a phrase with ‘to’ or ‘toward’, it is translating a contextual phrase, not asserting that the carved mouth always pictures movement. This example is pedagogical and is not represented as a transcription of an unpublished monument.
Compare it with other genuine signs
D21 and G17 are both commonly taught as single-consonant signs, but their visual subjects differ: a mouth and an owl. Contrast D21 also with O1, the house plan. O1 normally writes the word pr as a logogram, so it does not function simply as another one-consonant letter. Learning these contrasts early prevents the common mistake of treating a sign chart as a complete translation machine.
What this sign cannot tell us
Do not pronounce the consonant r as a recoverable single ancient vowel-plus-consonant syllable. The exact historical phonetics of Egyptian changed and remain partly uncertain. Unicode names and transliteration marks provide consistent modern scholarly references; the language must be read with grammar, period and parallel inscriptions in mind.
A common question about D21
What is the phonetic value of Egyptian mouth sign D21?
Its common one-consonant value is r. The word or grammatical meaning of the surrounding passage needs to be established from the full spelling and context.
Verified references and further reading
This dossier uses the official Unicode sign identification and academic explanations of Egyptian writing. It is an educational sign-level reference, not a claim to decipher a specific unexamined monument or recover a lost pronunciation.
- Unicode Consortium, Egyptian Hieroglyphs character names and standard values (including D21)
- UCL Digital Egypt, The System of Egyptian Hieroglyphic Writing
- UCL Digital Egypt, a worked introduction to phonograms and meaning signs
- UCL Digital Egypt, Egyptian sound-sign reference
Browse the original 136-sign Hieroglyphic Explorer or read the source-based study of Egyptian scribes and scripts for wider historical context. The explorer is an index; individual profiles provide dedicated research guidance for the six reviewed signs.
Evidence review: 3 November 2026. Unicode identity and proposed standard sign value checked; actual inscriptions can have contextual or orthographic variation.